Cinnamon Spiced Granola

Granola is one of my all-time favorite comfort foods. This particular granola adds the perfect amount of warmth and spice to almost any snack without being overly sweet. It goes really well over Greek yogurt with berries, with almond butter and fruit, atop an acai bowl (my new obsession)…and it is especially fantastic (not to mention classy) while being shoveled into your mouth just by itself while no one is watching. 😉

To make this granola, I took a very simple recipe and modified with a primary goal of using a fraction of the sugar. Just a tip: I have been finding that this is very simple to use less sugar in a lot of baked goods. In fact, I have been reducing the amount of sugar by at least half and ending up with very positive outcomes so I would definitely encourage you to experiment the same way.

Cinnamon Spiced Granola

Ingredients:

• 3 ½ cups quick cook oats
• ½ cup chopped walnuts
• ½ tsp cinnamon
• ½ tsp allspice
• Generous pinch sea salt
• ¼ cup canola oil
• ¼ cup pure maple syrup
• 1 tsp vanilla extract

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 250°.
2. Combine oats, walnuts, cinnamon, allspice, and sea salt in a medium mixing bow. Whisk together and set aside.
3. Combine canola oil, maple syrup, and vanilla extract in a small saucepan over low heat stirring occasionally. Once the mixture just begins to boil, whisk together and pour over oats.
4. Stir well to make sure oats are evenly coated, spread out over a baking sheet, and bake for 1 hour making sure to give it a stir every 20 minutes.

Makes: 4 cups

Serving size: ¼ cup

Nutrition Facts (per serving):

• Calories: 139
• Fat: 7 grams
• Protein: 3 grams
• Carbs: 16 grams
• Fiber: 2 grams